Many serious offenders still not screened before release

Nearly four out of 10 serious sexual and violent offenders released from prison on licence are being freed without being screened for their risk to the public, according to a report published today by official criminal justice watchdogs.

The investigation was ordered after a catalogue of disastrous failures in the supervision by probation and police officers of released serious offenders, culminating in the murder of the financier John Monckton at his London family home by Damien Hanson soon after he had been released early from a 12-year sentence for attempted murder.

The joint inquiry, carried out by the chief inspectors of probation, Andrew Bridges, the police, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, and prisons, Anne Owers, says that there is a "very patchy picture" in the way the criminal justice system manages high-risk offenders after their release.

They also found that more attention needed to be given to preparing offenders for release.

"In general, our findings reveal many encouraging examples of effective work, but there was a clear need for improvement in about one-third of the casework we looked at last year. While we found that much had been achieved, there were also many areas for improvement," the inquiry concluded.

Among the shortcomings identified by the inspectors is the finding that in 39% of cases a "risk of harm" screening had not been completed by the time a prisoner was released on licence, and occasionally there were very lengthy delays in their completion.

Even more worryingly, the inspectors found that "in only half of the relevant probation cases had a comprehensive management plan been completed on high and very high risk of harm offenders within five working days of their release from prison".

The failure to include any assessment of the risk that Hanson might reoffend in the report to the parole board that decided to release him was a key factor in the Monckton murder case. This was despite an earlier assessment that there was a 91% likelihood that Hanson would strike again.

The failure to undertake a rigorous risk assessment was also a feature of other recent high-profile cases.

The inspectors' inquiry also found that the police were not always advised of releases of prisoners on temporary licence and that there was little evidence in some cases of preparation for release.

"In a fifth of cases of prisoners just starting their sentences and just over a third of those prisoners about to be released, we found little evidence of positive, proactive and timely work between prisons, probation and police," the report says.

The inspectors acknowledged that the report was being published at a time of heightened public concern and rising expectations about public protection generally.

"Independent reviews of a small number of recent cases have clearly underscored the importance of effective offender management," they say.

"While it will never be possible to eliminate risk when an offender is being managed in the community, it is right to expect the work to be done to a consistently high standard," the inspectors conclude.

A Home Office spokeswoman said that since the report was completed a year ago the completion of risk assessments on the more serious offenders coming up for release had significantly increased and now exceeded official targets.

"Offenders in custody and the community are managed accordingly through risk of harm procedures, with resources concentrated on those who present the highest risk," she said.

High-profile cases

Financier John Monckton was murdered in November 2004 during a robbery at his Chelsea home by Damien Hanson, and accomplice Elliott White, while on probation. Hanson had been released on parole three months earlier after serving 12 years for attempted murder.

Naomi Bryant, 40, was murdered last August in Winchester by convicted sex attacker Anthony Rice, nine months after he was released on parole after serving 16 years of a life sentence.

Marian Bates, 64, a Nottingham jeweller, was murdered by robber Peter Williams in 2003, when he was electronically tagged by a private security firm and had already missed seven probation and police appointments.

PC Ged Walker, 42, was murdered by drug addict David Parfitt in 2003 while he was under the supervision of Nottinghamshire probation service after being freed on early release.